# Before They Were Famous: Early Musical Gems **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227 "2020-05-05T20:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/1 "2020-05-05T20:53:10Z")
I’m sure it has been done before, but it sounds like a bit of fun – and Lord knows we could use a bit of fun at the moment. Simple premise: can we find a hatful of examples of famous musical artists who produced little gems long before they were famous? We’ll be needing a link to the gem in question, of course. I’ll kick off with **Neneh Cherry**. It says [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neneh_Cherry#Grammy_Awards) that she won a Grammy as Best Newcomer in 1990. All well and good, but in 1981 she was fronting **Rip Rig + Panic** when they produced the awesome [Bob Hope Takes Risks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN-nki0AHOU). In my (admittedly failing) memory, this was one of the two or three occasions when I walked into a record shop as a song was playing, strode immediately to the counter and said: _Get that off the turntable and put it in a bag, please. Here’s the money._ So that’s the idea – a musical gem made long before the artist in question subsequently became famous. What have you got? j ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/2 "2020-05-05T22:24:42Z")
Well, I don’t have a single song, but the poster child for albums is “Velvet Underground And Nico”. There’s the famous quote (allegedly by Brian Eno, I don’t know if that’s true) “Only 1000 people bought that album, but everyone of them formed a band”. Velvet Underground never became famous in their lifetime, only after (with a lot of push from Bowie) Lou Reed achieved solo fame. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/3 "2020-05-05T23:22:05Z")
Rick Springfield - Speak to the Sky Sonny and Cher - baby don’t Go Johnny Winter - birds Can’t Row Boats ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/4 "2020-05-05T23:55:30Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well, I don’t have a single song, but the poster child for albums is “Velvet Underground And Nico”. There’s the famous quote (allegedly by Brian Eno, I don’t know if that’s true) “Only 1000 people bought that album, but everyone of them formed a band”. Velvet Underground never became famous in their lifetime, only after (with a lot of push from Bowie) Lou Reed achieved solo fame. Seriously? They were quite well known due to the Andy Warhol connection. Not successful, but people knew about them. The quote was also attached to Big Star. James Taylor’s first album (for Apple) was overlooked, and _Child is the Father to the Man_ was only moderately successful and was overshadowed by the David Clayton-Thomas monster hits. Renaissance was a major flop; few have heard of their first album. But that’s kind of a cheat: while the same name, they underwent so many personnel changes that none of the original members was part of them when they succeeded. Pink Floyd was a weird little cult group before _Dark Side_. Not a lot of people listened to their first album. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/5 "2020-05-06T00:01:02Z")
“That’s Alright” - Elvis in 1955 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/6 "2020-05-06T00:04:33Z")
The guitarist in this video was crowned “The Face of 1968” by a British teen magazine and went on to record one of the biggest selling albums of all time: [The Herd -I Don’t Want Our Loving To Die](https://youtu.be/ujlabOc-bg4) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/7 "2020-05-06T00:29:40Z")
The very first studio recording ever to feature Jaco Pastorius was a funk number called [I Can Dig It, Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-oavIrfmN0) by a rather obscure artist named Willie “Little Beaver” Hale. If Pastorius had hung up his bass and retired from music right there on the spot immediately after recording that track, he would have STILL been one of the greatest bassists ever to play the instrument, based on that recording alone. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/8 "2020-05-06T01:17:15Z")
It’s hard to believe that the Guess Who, famous for [songs like These Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmYUmrnP0o) had their first hit with [Shakin’ All Over](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDHORxBmOA). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/9 "2020-05-06T04:07:30Z")
[Buckingham/Nicks](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/buckingham-nicks-buckingham-nicks/), released in 1973 and never reissued, digitized, or anything, despite there being an instant audience for this one. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/10 "2020-05-06T04:23:49Z")
[Buffalo Springfield](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNz4vo_-hvk). Can’t find a video from '64 but they were around in '64. This existed before Crosby Still Nash & Young. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/11 "2020-05-06T07:43:50Z")
Both Jan & Dean and Simon & Garfunkle were failed doo-wop duos till success. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/12 "2020-05-06T08:01:21Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It’s hard to believe that the Guess Who, famous for [songs like These Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmYUmrnP0o) had their first hit with [Shakin’ All Over](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDHORxBmOA). “Shakin All Over” was pre Burton Cummings, when the band was known as “Chad Allan & the Expressions.” It’s a pretty good version though. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/13 "2020-05-06T08:09:58Z")
Here’s The Who when they were called The High Numbers. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/waxaiAjh-r0/hqdefault.jpg "The High Numbers at the Railway Hotel, 1964") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waxaiAjh-r0) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/14 "2020-05-06T08:14:54Z")
[Stefani Germanotta - D’yer Maker](https://youtu.be/XN5f50_4cl0) live at the Bitter End in January, 2006. After naming herself after a Queen song, she recorded her first album one year later and became famous as Lady Gaga. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/15 "2020-05-06T11:05:43Z")
Adele before her first album came out [Adele, Pete Townshend, Rachel Fuller on In The Attic - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9VTrjOAn7E) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/16 "2020-05-06T11:41:48Z")
World Class Wrecking Crew with Dr Dre [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RT9O-pUGsVM/hqdefault.jpg "World Class Wreckin Cru ft. Dr. Dre - Surgery (dJ dAb Overdub) 1984 Live Performance") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9O-pUGsVM) ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/17 "2020-05-06T14:43:00Z")
Bon Scott before AC/DC [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BQ-45XG7n4k/hqdefault.jpg "VALENTINES Aussie bubblegum Bon Scott AC/DC") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ-45XG7n4k) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/18 "2020-05-06T14:57:43Z")
John Coltrane playing for the Miles Davis Quintet. He replaced Sonny Rollins, who was dealing with his heroin addiction. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/19 "2020-05-06T16:23:10Z")
I loved Bonnie Raitt waaaay back in the day, before anyone had heard of her. I liked her less the more popular she became. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227/20 "2020-05-06T17:42:40Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > [Buffalo Springfield](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNz4vo_-hvk). Can’t find a video from '64 but they were around in '64. This existed before Crosby Still Nash & Young. They started in 1965, and had scored a big boomer anthem, “For what it’s worth.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-they-were-famous-early-musical-gems/853227.md?page=2)